Is Stealing Wireless Wrong

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BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine

16-21 minutes
By Finlo Rohrer
BBC News Magazine
1 of 15 15/4/20, 7:59 am
A man has been arrested after being spotted

allegedly sitting in a street with a laptop using
someone else's unsecured wireless connection. Is
it immoral to do this?
So here's the thing.
You're walking down the street in Hypotheticalville and

in front of you is a gentleman who, when he walks,
spills seemingly endless torrents of golden coins on to
the pavement behind him.
He seems unconcerned by this and you notice that if

not picked up, these magic coins quickly evaporate. Is
it moral for you to pick a few up?
It's the kind of tree-falls-in-the-forest whimsy that an

undergraduate philosopher might mull over for a
moment, but back in the real world a not entirely
dissimilar debate is being played out.
The man arrested in a street in west London is at least

the third person to be accused of breaching the law by
taking internet service without permission.
The Communications Act 2003 says a "person who (a)

dishonestly obtains an electronic communications
service, and (b) does so with intent to avoid payment
of a charge applicable to the provision of that service,
is guilty of an offence".
It is a bit like reading your book from the

light coming out from someone's window
2 of 15 15/4/20, 7:59 am
Julian Baggini
Philosopher
There are also suggestions using somebody else's

wireless could come under the Computer Misuse Act,
usually used to combat hacking and electronic fraud.
But if it can be interpreted as illegal, can it be truly

said to be immoral?
Heavy downloading might affect the unsecured

person's speed of access or download limit, but a use
like checking an e-mail is hardly likely to be noticed.
Most "victims" will suffer no loss.
Philosopher Nick Bostrom, director of the Future of

Humanity Institute at Oxford University, says with
technology moving rapidly, socially-accepted moral
positions can be slow to solidify.
Warchalking identified open wireless networks for

those in the know
"I haven't thought about it. I'm not sure anybody has. It
might be one of those areas where cultural norms
haven't evolved or stabilised yet. It's so new it's not
clear whether it's stealing or not. And sometimes the
3 of 15 15/4/20, 7:59 am
law trails public norms.
"If you steal a silver Mont Blanc pen it's theft but if it's
an ordinary ballpoint pen or a pencil it is assumed you
can take it.
"In the olden days people had norms about whether

you were able to pick apples from someone else's
tree. Perhaps it's OK if the branches hang over the
road, but not from inside their garden. You have
generally shared expectations."
In 2002 Matt Jones, the original designer of the BBC

News website, devised "warchalking" with a group of
friends. These chalk symbols on walls and pavements
showed those in the know where free wireless internet
was.
Freeloaders v borrowers
Among the sternest critics of the concept was Nokia,

who months later said: "This is theft, plain and
simple."
But they were worried about users congregating near

an open network and slowing it down, as much as by
the ethical considerations. For one person checking
an e-mail on a hardly-stretched home connection, the
issue might seem different.
Philosopher Julian Baggini says he can't see what all

the fuss is about.
4 of 15 15/4/20, 7:59 am
"I'm pro the stealers on this one. If you are doing it

systematically to avoid chipping in your bit you are a
freeloader and that's immoral.
Are they going to prosecute someone who

stands outside a bakery warming their hands?
Barry Fox
Technology writer
"But casual and occasional use while travelling is a bit

like reading your book from the light coming out from
someone's window. It's like eating someone's
leftovers."
And he's happy to practise what he preaches.
"I've done it and I don't put a password on my own

connection. For all I know that's what someone's
doing now.
"But the fact that something is morally acceptable

doesn't change the fact of its illegality. The rule of law
is an important factor."
Freeloading is unacceptable, but the whole notion of a

crackdown on the theft of something that won't be
missed shows up an increasingly possessive society.
ISP victims
"We are really obsessed with things being ours or

mine. But there are things that can be shared."
5 of 15 15/4/20, 7:59 am
An internet service provider (ISP) might argue it is the

victim of wireless theft. If people could use other
people's wireless, why buy their own?
The idea of "piggybacking" off somebody else's

system harks back to the dawn of the internet and the
phone phreaking - gaining free calls by cracking the
systems - that inspired many technology pioneers.
There's nothing wrong in a little al fresco surfing is

there?
Now, of course, the morality of technology is a matter

for mainstream discourse.
Barry Fox, contributing editor for Europe Consumer

Electronics Daily, says unsecured networks are
getting fewer and fewer, but the real moral issue is
why computer firms don't take more responsibility for
their customers' security.
"When I'm in London I'm in a block of flats, I scan and

find unsecured networks. When I first started there
were any number of free and unsecured networks,
now it's mainly secured networks because many of the
ISPs have made it much easier.
6 of 15 15/4/20, 7:59 am
"There is a view that if people are daft enough to

throw their signal out for anyone to pick up they
deserve what they get.
"On the other hand, the computer manufacturers have

never done anything to make things easier for the
consumer, unless forced to."
The risk of one's computer being hacked or used for

malicious purposes is not a fiction, and is the reason
that many people insist on securing their wireless
connections.
Firework display
But Barry Fox finds it hard to see how a non-invasive

use of someone else's signal is a serious crime. "If the
person was trying to infect a computer or steal data,
that's one thing. But are they going to prosecute
someone who stands outside a bakery warming their
hands? It is like watching someone else's firework
display."
There will be many people who would be outraged to

find someone nicking their wireless. The water cooler
ethicists may be split down the middle for some time.
But, as Bostrom notes, more attention will bring

debates and eventually an accepted norm.
"Maybe with this arrest somebody will want to write a

paper on it," he says.
7 of 15 15/4/20, 7:59 am
Below is a selection of your comments:
If the wireless owner has not asked for nor expects a

payment for use of their broadband and you have not
broken into the system but have connected through
normal means then I cannot see how you have either
"dishonestly" obtained a service nor avoided any
payment. Securing your wireless network is clearly
recommended in the instructions so I see no reason
not to imply that an open network is open for public
use. If you don't want people to use your connection:
don't broadcast your SSID, secure the connection
and/or switch off DHCP.
Gareth, Wetherby
I have not asked, nor do I particularly want to be

irradiated by the wireless networks from my
neighbours - I can pick up about a dozen. If it enters
my house, I should be able to do with it what I want.
Don't like it? Get wired!
Gerard, Naarden, Holland
Yes - it's wrong. warming your hands outside the

bakery is not the same as standing outside someone's
house stealing expensive bandwidth. the bandwidth
we pay for is a commodity and as such has an entire
value - if someone uses a portion of your bandwidth
they are in fact stealing from you. it doesn't take place
after you've finished, it takes place as you're using the
service. that's the same as some chap sitting down at
8 of 15 15/4/20, 7:59 am
your table and eating off your plate as you eat. are
you okay with that?
Simon, Houston, TX
The rich neighbour found his poor neighbour salivating

outside of his kitchen window from the aroma of his
food. The rich neighbour demanded payment for the
smell of the food. The poor neighbour took some coins
from his pocket and said: "I'll pay for the smell of your
food with the sound of counting my money".
Tony, Milwaukee WI USA
I think Ibrahim, Bob and Dominic have the right idea. I

think if you see someone using the internet and they
are not able to provide you with a receipt, then we
should phone the police safe in the knowledge that
they are likely to be a paedophile who is trying to think
of a way to steal your television by flooding your
house using the water that they stole from your taps.
Andrew, Edinburgh
The attitude that, if you leave your house or car

unlocked you should not complain if it is burgled or
stolen is depressing. Theft is theft however the victim
behaves and is never their fault. Similarly using
someone else's connection is theft unless they have
made it clear they are willing to share it.
Alan, Bath, UK
Do you know if someone has a limited or unlimited

supply? No. It has the potential to be stealing - so is
9 of 15 15/4/20, 7:59 am
wrong.
Anon, London
I have used my daft neighbours wifi connection in the

past, but I took a guess at the router login and
managed to get in to the administration part. I had a
look who else had been accessing his wifi and about
half the street had been using is because I recognised
their names on the connection list.
Glenn Jones, oxford
The "open front door" analogy is correct, but it's not

like stealing the TV - which results in significant loss to
the property owner. It is much more like walking in,
taking a look at the pictures on the wall, sitting on the
sofa for a few minutes, watching a bit of TV, and then
walking out again leaving everything perfectly intact. I
really can't believe that the police would spend a lot of
time pursuing people who trespassed in this way as
criminals. I totally agree with the permission argument
- if you set up your wireless network without any
security you should be deemed to have allowed
access to all comers.
Andrew, Berkeley, California
In this case the TV is not being stolen, the real

analogy is someone comes in ( enters without
breaking!) and turns on the TV to watch. Sure this is
annoying, but I am sure the police would only come to
remove the person from your house, not prosecute
10 of 15 15/4/20, 7:59 am
them. Although if you asked them to leave (i.e.

secured the network) all but real thieves would leave
you alone.
Lee, Leicester
Does it matter if Richard Branson, BT or any other

major corporate company doesn't get a few more
pounds? If someone wants to share then fine, if you're
a bit odd and aren't interested, then put a password
on it. Don't give me the 'I'm paying, so why should
someone else get something out of it' argument either.
Richard, Nottingham
It's not remotely like reading your book from the light
coming from someone's window"! Shows how little he
understands of broadband. What nonsense. What if
you pay to have a water supply piped to your house,
and pay a monthly service fee, and perhaps even get
metered on your water usage - and then someone
secretly taps into your water pipe?
You're paying - they are stealing. That simple. The

assumption of the writer is that the broadband access
is un-metered, which may not be the case. There's no
such thing as 'non-invasive' use if someone else is
paying to get the service provided and you are just
freeloading.
Dominic, oxford
Freeloading and proud of it. I just hope the person

downstairs doesn't read this.
11 of 15 15/4/20, 7:59 am
Bob, Bobsland
"If you steal a silver Mont Blanc pen it's theft but if it's
an ordinary ballpoint pen or a pencil it is assumed you
can take it." Not where I come from! Stealing a pencil
is just as bad as stealing a silver pen!
John Collins, Warwick
I agree with Adrian's 'reading over the shoulder'

analogy, I think it is perfectly acceptable to use
someone else's wi-fi. In response to Ibrahim, it would
not matter what the person was doing with your
connection, that has no bearing on where the signal
came from. Everyone who has a problem with this
should lighten up and learn to share a little more,
collective wi-fi provision would be cheaper for
everyone anyway, and a lot less socially divisive.
Ciaran, London
When you connect to a wifi access point you ask for

permission, and depending on what the access point
has been told to do, you are either granted permission
or not. Thus if the access point as been setup to grant
permission to everyone, you are entitled to believe
you are allowed to use it. The courts are wrong in this
matter and the individuals who setup their access
points incorrectly are at fault. Ignorance or stupidity
are no excuse to blame others.
Ian Smith, London, UK
I don't really see how it can be "stealing" if the person
12 of 15 15/4/20, 7:59 am
who paid still has all of what they paid for. In that
respect, it's not like your example of taking an apple
from the overhanging branch of a tree. More like
reading someone's newspaper over their shoulder on
the Tube (maybe that will be next...?) "Unauthorised
use" maybe, but surely not "stealing".
Adrian, Manchester, UK
If the ISPs in the UK weren't so money-grabbing, then

perhaps people wouldn't be tempted to poach
unsecured wifi. On continental Europe, free public wifi
access is the norm. There's none of this "pay £6 for an
hour" nonsense like in the UK (Heathrow being a
prime culprit). We've just been on holiday to
Switzerland, where the village had at least 3 (and they
were just the ones we found on our first attempt) free
wifi hotspots for public use. We were able to check our
emails and look up train times etc. whenever we
wanted to.
Jessica Gooch, Harrow
Haven't the police got more important crimes to

resolve? What a disgusting waste of taxes! They're
always bleating they haven't got the manpower to
solve real issues?!
Mike, Cambridge
Lets try a different analogy. If someone leaves their

front door wide open is it wrong to go in a steal the
television?
13 of 15 15/4/20, 7:59 am
Bob, London
If you leave your wireless connection unsecured then

it is your own fault. Just as you wouldn't leave your
front door unlocked, neither should you leave your
wireless connection open. In fact cafes and other
public spaces leave their wireless open so customers
can access it. So by leaving your wireless open, you
are effectively inviting people to use it. It's as easy as
clicking a few settings on your router to secure your
network. Those who leave their connections open
have as little right to complain as somebody who
parks their car and then leaves the door wide open.
Ken, Evesham
Is leaving your car running and open inviting someone

to take it for a spin? Of course not, but what kind of a
doughnut would you be for doing it?
Steve, Cambridge
The biggest problem comes from people using next

door's wireless signal for one's own- that's not al
fresco surfing, that's long-term stealing. As for finding
a quick wireless spot for free in a city hotel, that is
short term and hence should not be so quickly
frowned upon.
Tom, Portsmouth, UK
What if the person who was 'stealing' your internet

connection was involved in illegal activity such as child
pornography....bakery warming the hands? this is
14 of 15 15/4/20, 7:59 am
more like a pickpocket warming in hands in your

trousers.
Ibrahim, derby
In a certain far-off country, potatoes are so cheap that

no one buys them as they need: they simply have a
load delivered every day, and the ones they don't
need they leave out in the street. what can be the
harm in picking them up and taking them home?
Nick Arrow, Leeds
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BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine about:reader?url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazi...

BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine

A man has been arrested after being spotted

You're walking down the street in Hypotheticalville and

He seems unconcerned by this and you notice that if

It's the kind of tree-falls-in-the-forest whimsy that an

The man arrested in a street in west London is at least

The Communications Act 2003 says a "person who (a)

It is a bit like reading your book from the

There are also suggestions using somebody else's

But if it can be interpreted as illegal, can it be truly

Heavy downloading might affect the unsecured

Philosopher Nick Bostrom, director of the Future of

Warchalking identified open wireless networks for

law trails public norms.

"In the olden days people had norms about whether

In 2002 Matt Jones, the original designer of the BBC

Among the sternest critics of the concept was Nokia,

But they were worried about users congregating near

Philosopher Julian Baggini says he can't see what all

"I'm pro the stealers on this one. If you are doing it

Are they going to prosecute someone who

"But casual and occasional use while travelling is a bit

And he's happy to practise what he preaches.

"I've done it and I don't put a password on my own

"But the fact that something is morally acceptable

Freeloading is unacceptable, but the whole notion of a

"We are really obsessed with things being ours or

An internet service provider (ISP) might argue it is the

The idea of "piggybacking" off somebody else's

There's nothing wrong in a little al fresco surfing is

Now, of course, the morality of technology is a matter

Barry Fox, contributing editor for Europe Consumer

"When I'm in London I'm in a block of flats, I scan and

"There is a view that if people are daft enough to

"On the other hand, the computer manufacturers have

The risk of one's computer being hacked or used for

But Barry Fox finds it hard to see how a non-invasive

There will be many people who would be outraged to

But, as Bostrom notes, more attention will bring

"Maybe with this arrest somebody will want to write a

Below is a selection of your comments:

If the wireless owner has not asked for nor expects a

I have not asked, nor do I particularly want to be

Yes - it's wrong. warming your hands outside the

The rich neighbour found his poor neighbour salivating

I think Ibrahim, Bob and Dominic have the right idea. I

The attitude that, if you leave your house or car

Do you know if someone has a limited or unlimited

I have used my daft neighbours wifi connection in the

The "open front door" analogy is correct, but it's not

In this case the TV is not being stolen, the real

them. Although if you asked them to leave (i.e.

Does it matter if Richard Branson, BT or any other

You're paying - they are stealing. That simple. The

Freeloading and proud of it. I just hope the person

I agree with Adrian's 'reading over the shoulder'

When you connect to a wifi access point you ask for

I don't really see how it can be "stealing" if the person